Forty Families to Camp Sunshine

For the past 12 years, the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation has been sponsoring a trip to Camp Sunshine for some of the children and families that we work with year-round.

This year, we’re sending nearly 40 children and teens who suffer from lupus and their immediate families to Camp Sunshine in Casco, Maine—a fitting number given that we’re marking our 40th year.

For many of these children and their families, it’s the highlight of their year.

Deep thanks to the many generous donors, Foundations, and others who make Camp Sunshine a possibility are evident in these end-of-camp words from grateful families:

“When I first was diagnosed with lupus, I thought the world ended for me. But Camp Sunshine is a blessing for my family and I because in this place I can forget about my pains and my situation…it is the best part of the year!”

“Having a child with a chronic illness is a day to day struggle for our family that is masked from others behind our doorway, but at Camp Sunshine we can all let our guard down to express what we really feel and who we are with other families who essentially live the same lives.”

“For the last six months, I have been feeling like I needed, as a mom, for someone to wrap me up in protective arms of love. That is what I received this week. Arms and arms of love. That felt like “home” to me.” – Mother of three daughters, two with lupus.

“Our daughter doesn’t connect well with others, or feel like she fits in; but at camp she is ‘one of the crowd’ and blends in physically, emotionally, and comes alive with happiness. For a mother, there is nothing more I could ask for—nor any place else where she is more at ease with her disease.”

“Mere words could never express my gratitude for the week we have spent at Camp Sunshine or the joy, happiness, and love it has provided to every member of our family.”

“When my daughter gets one of her infusions she will lay there with her eyes closed. As the tears run down her face from the pain, she will begin to smile and tell me every detail about camp…it’s these memories that get us through the year!”

“This camp is more than sunshine. It is therapy. My hope is that along the way of all the pain, sadness, and uncertainties about having lupus, we all continue to strive toward helping the world know and work toward finding a cure.”